The Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) announced that the May 2023 theme for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month is Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity. The full press release announcing this month's festivities can be found here.
Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (also known as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month) is a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The Asia/Pacific region encompasses the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Easter Island).
Celebrated in May, Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, as the majority of the workers were Chinese immigrants. In addition, the celebration also highlights the significant contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders to our society and highlights their traditions, cultures, and experiences.
From How artist Alok Vaid-Menon lives beyond the gender binary by Neeti Upadhye (Washington Post)
"It's hard to find the words to describe Alok Vaid-Menon. But that's precisely the point. The 31-year-old nonbinary artist has amassed more than 1 million followers on Instagram by leading a life beyond labels. In their work, Vaid-Menon aims to encourage others to understand that gender identity is fluid, unconstrained by societal expectations. Full article. Photo credit: Alok Vaid-Menon with Flowers by Eivind Hansen (CC0 1.0)
Chloe Kim is a professional snowboarder who is one of the sport's fastest rising stars. Kim started snowboarding when she was just four years old and emerged as a top contender by the time she was a teen. Along with being a multiple-time X Games champion, Kim earned a spot on the US Olympic snowboarding team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, but she was too young to participate. Full bio. Photo credit: Chloe Kim (USA) Snowboard Halfpipe, PyeongChang2018 by Andy Miah (CC BY-NC 2.0)
American teen Auli'i Cravalho had no professional experience when she auditioned for the role of a Disney heroine in a new animated film. The character, Moana, lives on an island in the Pacific and longs to explore. Cravalho got the starring role and began recording the songs for the film in late 2015. Full bio. Photo credit: Disney Channel Presents by Walt Disney Television (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Best known for her role as Kelly Kapoor on the hit situation comedy The Office, Mindy Kaling is an actress, writer, director, and producer. She works in all mediums and was the cowriter and costar of the underground theater sensation Matt & Ben. Along with her costars, Kapoor won several awards for her work on The Office before moving on to create and star in her own television series, The Mindy Project. Full bio. Photo credit: An Evening with Mindy Kaling by starbright31 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Kamala Harris became the vice president of the United States in 2021, under President Joe Biden. With the win, she became the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian American to serve as vice president. She first learned about working for social justice while she was still riding in a stroller, pushed by her parents through the many protest marches in Berkeley, California, during the mid-1960s. The passion to protect civil liberties that had been ignited in her as a small child led Harris to choose a career in law and eventually to become the first African-American woman to be elected to the position of district attorney in the state of California. Full bio. Photo credit: Kamala Harris by GPA Photo Archive (PDM 1.0)
The chief executive officer of the popular online shoe store Zappos.com, Tony Hsieh was an Internet entrepreneur who was able to develop a good corporate atmosphere for his employees, and who also understood the importance of providing excellent customer service. He had previously co-founded two other companies: LinkExchange, which was sold to Microsoft for a significant sum; and Venture Frogs, a firm that invested in Internet start-up companies. Full bio. Photo credit: Tony Hsieh by Nan Palmero (CC BY 2.0)
Keanu Reeves is an American actor best known for his roles as Ted in the comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and as Neo in the science fiction action film The Matrix and its two sequels. Though Reeves began acting in the 1980s, it was not until the mid-to late 1990s that he became a popular star. Since then, he has gone on to star in numerous mainstream films. Full bio. Photo credit: Keanu Reeves by Governo do Estado de Sao Paulo (CC BY 2.0)
New York City native Awkwafina began her career with an entertaining series of rap videos that established her as a boundary-crossing performer. Since making her YouTube debut in 2012, the Queens-born Nora Lum effected a seemingly effortless transition into acting, appearing in two major box-office releases in mid-2018, Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. The latter film's director, Jon M. Chu, was a longtime fan of the viral videos Awkwafina made and told the Washington Post that he permitted the novice actor some creative freedom with her character and dialogue. Full bio. Photo credit: Awkwafina-CasiMoss-Photography by Casi Moss (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Energetic and creative fashion guru Vera Wang became known as the designer to the stars in the 1990s with her trademark up-to-date wedding dresses, in addition to sleek evening gowns and elegant figure skating costumes. Using sheer materials and emphasizing minimalist styles, she has amassed a legion of famous fans from framed actresses and ice skaters who have made Wang a household name. Wang's creations are not just for the elite, however; she has a ready-to-wear line of bridal and evening dresses that can be found at stores across the nation. Full bio. Photo credit: Pronovias by Vera Wang by Gabrielaaaag (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Anna May Wong became America's first Asian American movie star before films could even talk. She maintained her popularity for more than a quarter of a century and remained one of the highest-salaried stars of her time. Full bio. Photo credit: Anna May Wong in "Impact" 1949 by BJ Alias (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The Japanese American architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912-1986) designed several iconic structures in the post-World War II United States and had a significant international career. He remains best known for his design for New York City's World Trade Center. Yamasaki's geometric designs fell squarely within the international modernist style pioneered by the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Full bio. Photo credit: Irwin Library at Butler University by Minoru Yamasaki by Richie Diesterheft (CC BY-SA 2.0)
